Press Releases

1,000 Nurses, Activists to Protest Chamber of Commerce Today

RNs Also Will Call on White House, Congress to Change Direction With an Economy That Benefits Main Street, Not Wall Street

Some 1,000 registered nurses, joined by labor and community supporters will picket the Washington DC headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce today, and rally outside the White House and Congress to call for a new direction for the American People.

At a major conference Monday, the RNs, members of National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of nurses, heard compelling and disturbing accounts of how the enduring economic crisis is prompting broad declines in health and living standards for substantial segments of the U.S. population. Low wages, unemployment, hunger, substandard housing and declining access to education and health are cited by the RNs as the source of serious harm to communities across the nation.

Today, the RNs will hear from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka before going to the picket protest and rallies. NNU is proposing a program for rebuilding American communities with jobs, healthcare, education and other urgent needs, funded through a fair tax policy targeted to those on Wall Street who created the economic crisis.

Among those scheduled to address the nurses today are U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Barbara Boxer (authors of two NNU-sponsored bills), and other legislators and community leaders. Following the rally, the nurses will move into the Capitol for legislative visits.